With the daylight hours at there longest and most of our rivers running very clear, it makes sense to pleasure fish early or late in the day to give yourself the best chance of catching.
Early mornings and late evenings are prime time for summer chub fishing. Fish that sit in cover all day and seem uncatchable, suddenly switch on, moving into open water and feeding with real intent. If you’re set up in the right place with the right approach, it’s often just a matter of putting a bait in front of them.
To help you make the most of it, here are six tips for catching more chub this summer
Use simple float rigs
Use a bulk of shot to lock the float in place, this will ensure that the float cocks instantly, then as a rule have a No6 dropper down the line for every 2ft of depth, to ensure a natural fall of the hookbait and to avoid the rig being dragged unnaturally, don’t be tempted to go too light, chub are aggressive feeders the float will vanish when you get a bite.
SIMPLE FLOAT TACTICS ARE GREAT USING THE BEST CHUB FISHING RODS.
Don't go too light
In snaggy swims, don’t mess about with light gear. Use 6lb or 8lb mainline and pair it with a hooklength between 0.14 and 0.18mm, depending on the flow and how snaggy the swim is. Chub hit hard and head straight for cover, so you need the strength to turn them quickly.
USE ONE OF THE BEST FISHING REELS TO BATTLE THESE HARD FIGHTING FISH.
Give meat a try
Feed 6mm cubes of meat to build the swim, but don’t just match the hatch. For bigger chub, a much larger hookbait often gets the bite. A chunk of torn meat with ragged edges leaks scent better than a neat cube and looks more natural drifting in the flow.
SIT ON ONE OF THE BEST FISHING CHAIRS ON YOUR NEXT RIVER SESSION.
Use a big hook with bread
Don’t be afraid to step up your hook size when fishing bread. A size 10, 8 or even a 6 isn’t over the top, especially when you’re wrapping small pieces of sliced white around the shank. The bait folds and fluffs up around the hook, creating a soft, natural-looking mouthful that holds well in the flow that chub cant resist. A bread hookbait strikes the right balance between visibility and buoyancy.
SNARE A BIG CHUB USING ONE OF THE BEST SPECIMEN FISHING RODS.
Mix your pellet sizes
Feed 6mm pellets to draw fish in, then fish an 8mm on the hook as a stand out hookbait from the free offerings. It’s a classic approach that works well on bigger rivers where the fish are used to a bit more bait going in. On smaller rivers or when bites are hard to come by, scale it back, feed 4mm pellets and fish a 6mm hookbait for a more subtle presentation.
PELLETS ARE GREAT FOR ADDING LIQUIDS, ADDITIVES AND BAIT BOOSTERS.
Go prepared
You don’t need to bring the whole tackle shop with you, but make sure you have the basics covered. Always carry spares of the essentials like catapults, disgorgers, shot, and hooks. If something breaks or you lose the rig in a snag mid-session, you don’t want to be packing up early for the sake of a small piece of terminal tackle. Chub fishing often means walking the banks and fishing tight swims, so having spares with you keeps you fishing.
FIND ONE OF THE BEST CHUB RIVERS NEAR YOU IN OUR WHERE TO FISH GUIDE.
